


TMNT 100 Themes

by BerthaDarling



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-11
Updated: 2014-04-02
Packaged: 2018-01-01 03:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,897
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1039875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BerthaDarling/pseuds/BerthaDarling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of one shots and ficlets based on 100 Themes. All of them will be pre-tv show.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro

Saving Grace 

_Introduce: Bring into use or operation for the first time._

_Reintroduce: Bring into existence again._

Yoshi had stayed in the alley longer than what was safe. He had lain prostrate, eyes clenched shut long after the pain had subsided. He didn't understand what the glowing substance had done to him, but he knew it had changed him greatly. If he was completely honest, he didn't want to move because he was afraid of what he would see, what his reflection would be. But the sounds of a city waking up drove him to get off the wet ground.

The puddle beneath him was shallow and muddy. Even so, he could see the snout that protruded from his face, the cone shaped ears that twitched with every new sound. He didn't need the water to know that whatever was flicking around his feet was attached to him. Yoshi stood to his feet and looked down over his fur covered body. A rat. He was a rat.

Disgust surged through Yoshi, coupled by intense anger. What had he done to deserve this? The world had taken his life, Tang Shen, his daughter. He had fled to America, searching for a way to move on. He had hoped to disappear in the teeming mass of New York. Instead he had been spit out, a monster, no longer able to slide by on the edges of society.

Yoshi had stayed in the alley longer than what was safe. The world was moving and if he didn't hide, he would be found and pursued. In the despair that clouded around him, Yoshi could only think of one place he could go; the sewers.

For a normal person, the man hole covers were too heavy to move. Proper equipment was needed in order to access the sewers. But Yoshi quickly discovered that his new form had more strength than he had thought. It was quite simple to gain entrance to the dark abyss.

Just as he was about to disappear through the open man hole, Yoshi caught sight of a pair of eyes. As he had lain there he had heard faint rustling, but had attributed it to a cat digging through the garbage. Now that he could see the eyes that peered out at him, he knew it had been no cat. Though frightened, the grey orbs stared out of the darkness with intelligence. They drew back slightly when they realized they had been seen, but continued to stare out.

In the creature's shifting, Yoshi had caught a glimpse of green around the eyes. His apprehension disappearing, Yoshi called. “Come here.” he winced at the growl of his voice as it came through his unfamiliar snout. The eyes drew back in alarm, nearly out of sight. Yoshi tried again, this time holding out his hand. “It's all right, little one. You can come here.”

To his surprise, the eyes multiplied, a startling green set joined the first, wary. The first pair crept forward slowly as two more joined, making it four pairs of eyes in the darkness. Yoshi watched in amusement as a green three fingered hand, then an arm, and finally the head revealed itsself to the world. The creature crawled further forward and Yoshi held back as gasp as he saw the hard plates that lined its back. It was a turtle.

During his mutation, Yoshi had forgotten all about the four turtles that he had dropped. He would have assumed that they had wandered away. Yet here they were, alive and had apparently changed like him. One by one they edged into the light. Blank faces focused on him. Four of them. Four mutated turtles who would now need to be taken care of. He could not, in good conscious, just leave them to die.

Yoshi reached out to the foremost one, the creature who had first seen him. It drew back a little from his hand and he paused. Then, to his surprise, the creature's tiny hands grasped his. They gazed at each other and Yoshi saw past the blank stare and saw a child. A child that had reached out to him when nobody else would.

With sight blurring from sudden tears, Yoshi saw the four turtles clearly. They were his saving grace, given when he thought the world had forsaken him. And as a truck careened past, and the alarmed turtles all pressed close, Yoshi's broken heart opened. He gathered the four in his arms and slipped into the sewers.


	2. Smile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of one shots and possible short chapter stories based on themes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I forgot about these note things. Anyways, thanks so much for all the views and reviews! I felt so excited when I saw that people liked what I'd written.  
> So here's the next theme: Smile. It fought me like a banshee. I was having trouble coming up with an idea. The chapter that you are about to read is actually version 4, but it's the one that I like the most. The Turtles are about 5 or 6 in this one. And the arguing at the beginning is Leo and Raph. I thought I'd play around with Mikey for this one. Hope you like it!

Work of Art

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Not for profit. Just for fun.

_Master piece: A person's greatest piece of work._

_“That's not how you're supposed to do it.”_

_“Sure it isn't”_

_“No. Your legs aren't straight enough.”_

Mikey hummed quietly to himself in the glow of the kitchen's lights. Not any song in particular, just whatever he wanted. His legs swung back and forth, not yet long enough to reach the rungs around the legs of the stool, much less the floor. He straightened the pile of paper in front of him, but in reaching for the pencil that had rolled away he knocked the white sheets out of alignment again.

_“Do you think I care if I do it right?”_

_“You should. Master Splinter will make you do it over and over if you don't.”_

Exaggerated sigh. Mikey shifted the papers back into their place. He smiled at them and clasped the pencil in his right hand. Line after squiggle after line began to fill the page. His feet kept kicking.

_“What makes you think you're so high and mighty?”_

_“At least I know how to do a proper handstand.”_

_“Then show me.” Shove. Crash._

_“Guys! I'm trying to work!”_

A tiny tip of pink tongue poked out at an especially hard part. His brow puckered in concentration and the feet stopped their back and forward motion to clench.

_“You're both so loud!”_

_“Get off me, Raph!” Struggle._

Mikey's face smoothed out as he cocked his head, staring intently at the picture in front of him. After a tense moment he smiled in satisfaction. Continued kicking and drawing. His humming grew louder to compete with the scuffling sounds coming in from the common area.

_“Raph! Stop it!”_

_“Make me!” “Will you two be quiet?!” Stop. “...No. No no nonononono!”_

_“Get him!”_

_“Gyah!”_

Mikey's nose scrunched up and he sneezed before adding one more line to his page. He stopped, studied it, then scrawled his name on the bottom decidedly.

_“Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Leo! Stop!”_

_Giggles._

“Michelangelo? What are you doing?”

Mikey looked up, his eyes bright and a wide smile in place. “I'm drawing, Sensei.”

_Scuffles. Grunts. “Stay still, Donnie.”_

_“No!”_

“And what are you drawing, my son?”

“Us.” he held up the picture. “See?”

_“Finally!”_

_“He's getting away!”_

_“Agh – Ooof.” Thud._

_“Not anymore.”_

_“Raph!”_

“That's you, and Leo, and Donnie, and Raph, and me. And we're smiling cause we're happy.”

Splinter placed his paw on Mikey's shoulder. “It is good.”

“Thanks!” It wasn't possible for Mikey's face to light up more.

_“Are you ticklish Donnie?”_

_“No! No! Raph, get off!”_

“What are your brothers doing?” Splinter walked to the doorway.

“They're practising handstands.” Matter-of-fact. Mikey jumped off the stool. Both peered out into the common area. Donnie was pinned on his carapace, Leo above his head straining to hold back his struggling arms. Raph sat squarely on Donnie's middle, tickling him mercilessly.

“I can see that.” A smile toyed in the corners of Splinter's mouth.

Mikey vibrated at his side. He looked up at his father. Splinter held out his hand and Mikey clapped the picture into it. He bounded across the room and pounced on Leo, freeing Donnie and giving him a fighting chance against Raph.

Splinter watched as his four sons wrestled around the common area, giggles interspersed with occasional grunts. He drew Mikey's precious picture up to his eyes. While it may not be able to compete with Mikey's namesake's works, it was a master piece in its own way. Splinter smiled and walked back into the kitchen. When he left, the hand drawn picture hung from the front of the fridge.


	3. Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of one shots and possible short chapter stories based on themes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloo!  
> So, I'm slowly ageing these Turtle boys. In this one, they're about 11. It was really tempting to focus on Mikey again, but Donnie (and Leo) kinda demanded some attention.  
> Anyways, enjoy! 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own them. Not for profit. Just for fun. And the occasional moment of “AGH! I can't do this! WHY?” But mainly for fun.

Darkening

_Fear: A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined._

 

“Abandon hope all ye who enter here.*” It had been written on the Gates of Hell and now it resounded in Donatello's mind. The darkness around him seemed to press forward, sensing his despair. Shadows danced on a sinister stage of deepening black, playing tricks in sadistic amusement. Donnie drew his legs closer, wrapping his trembling arms around his knees. It was foolish to be afraid of the dark; Mikey was the only one who slept with a night light. But the darkness of home and darkness of strange sewer tunnels were two very different things.

They had been playing tag, a simple game. He shouldn't have gotten lost. Out of all the brothers he was the one with the most knowledge of the tunnel system surrounding their subterranean home. In fact, it was this exact knowledge that had allowed him to escape from Raph earlier. His hot-headed brother tended to be relentless in the chase, but Donnie had turned corner after corner, leading Raph further into the darkening sewer tunnels. Eventually he had seemingly given up the pursuit. Donnie had continued weaving his way through the dark, following the map in his mind; there was no telling what Raph would do when he was “It.”

The thought that he could probably stop had just crossed Donnie's consciousness when he had careened around another right corner and tripped over the loose bricks that lay in his way. That particular area was one that tended to flood frequently and though it hadn't rained in about a week, the floor was still slippery. It had also happened to be one of the tunnels that was built on an incline. Donnie had tumbled down the wet slope, knocking his head before he brought up his arms to shield it. When he had finally hit the bottom and skidded to a stop on his carapace, Donnie's world had been thrown in enough circles to make him unsure of which way was home. He had gotten up and attempted to get back, but a couple of hesitant wrong turns and a long hour of walking through dark tunnels later, he found himself lost.

“In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself within a dark woods where the straight way was lost.*” Donnie tucked his head down underneath his arms, trying to escape the oppressive heaviness around him, but he soon found that darkness only felt is far worse that darkness merely seen. It reminded him of the section in Dante's Inferno in which those punished for anger fought in the river Styx. And those who lost sank beneath it.

“Into a black sulkiness which can find no joy in God or man or the universe.*” He found himself muttering the lines aloud. When the ratty paperback book had washed down into the sewers, Donnie had jumped at the chance of reading new material. At first Master Splinter had been skeptical of letting his young son read the book, but Donnie had been able to convince him that he was old enough. He wouldn't get scared, he had claimed. And he hadn't. It had been easy hold off fear when reading in the light, surrounded by family that was only a shout away. In that environment fear hadn't even been a thought Donnie had entertained. The book had fascinated him.

Yet here, in the pitch black sewer tunnels, lost and alone, lines kept crowding into Donatello's mind, more alive than they had ever been. Words took on new meanings, and sentences that had been harmless in the light suddenly turned, revealing their truly savage nature. Donnie had never been afraid of words before. Words could be explained. They did the explaining. Words were what Donnie used to chase away Mikey's fears. And now, as he was alone, lost in despair, words that had always been a stronghold turned out to be a trap. They made the darkness live. They made the darkness breathe.

Donnie pushed aside his thoughts, deciding to grapple with them later. They complied, barely, the fear threatening at any moment to overcome his hastily built barriers and consume everything again. He would stay here for the night and see if any daylight could help him find his way home. No doubt his family would be worried sick about him. They were probably out looking for him right now. But there was nothing he could do to help. The best thing was to stay in one place.

Water had pooled in the middle of the tunnel, but the spot Donnie sat in was relatively dry. He swept his hand over the ground beside him in a vain attempt to wipe away the grime. The hard concrete was hardly a substitute for his usual bed. Donnie shivered from the cold and wedged his shell as far back against the wall as it would go. He used his arm as a pillow and curled up small and tight.

If he hadn't been so close to the ground Donnie would never have heard the faint pounding of footsteps beating against concrete. He would never have heard a dim voice calling his name desperately. And he would never have called back, his answer wavering in the dark.

The voice exclaimed in jubilation and the darkness fled away from a growing light. “Donnie!” Leo slid around the corner and Donnie just clung to his brother, wincing in the sudden freedom of blessed light. Sobs burst out, beyond his control. Leo gently set the lamp down and knelt by his brother, wrapping his arms around as much of him as he could. “It's okay Donnie. I've got you.”

* * *

Raph and Mikey had already reached home by the time they got back. Donnie had calmed down soon after Leo arrived, but he was still a bit pale. Leo had waved off their Mikey's curiosity and Raph's questions. “He got distracted and just lost track of time. Nothing big.” Mikey had been satisfied, rushing off to tell Splinter that Donnie was back. Raph wasn't so easily sated, but he held back any further comments after a meaningful look from his big brother.

They had all gone to bed pretty soon after, Leo had being the last. He made sure that Donnie was okay in his room before closing his own bedroom door.

And when that door slid open a little while later, Leo simply moved over to make space, content to be the comfort his brother needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Excerpt from Dante's Inferno.


	4. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of one shots and possible short chapter stories from before the Turtles enter our world based on themes. This chapter: The boys watch the New Year's Eve firework show and Leo learns something about honesty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi people. I know this has been a long wait. School kind of does that to you. But things are working and should have more time for writing, or at least I'll make time. Still, I can't promise super fast updates, but I will get at least one new chapter up each month.  
> This chapter went through a couple major changes and the version you are currently reading is version number 3. It might seem choppy because I wanted to get it done and on here in time for the New Year.  
> Anyways, enjoy!

_Indefinite: Not clearly expressed._   
_Uncertain: Likely to change. Not feeling sure about the truth_

“Are we there yet? How much closer? Are we late? I hope we aren't late.” Leo could practically hear the energy washing off of Mikey. He'd been asking questions non-stop ever since they'd turned the corner and lost sight of their home. Non-stop questions for at least 15 minutes. Leo didn't know when Mikey took breathes; there wasn't enough time between the questions. And he kept bouncing all the way. Festivities just did things to Mikey that Leo didn't understand and wasn't sure if he even wanted to.  
Donnie had long since given up trying to answer them. Mikey didn't seem to need answers anyway and they didn't make him quiet, so there was no use. Raph had chosen to stamp ahead, throwing back an occasional “Will you shut up?”  
Mikey would only chirp “Nope.” Donnie would sigh and Leo would laugh. Raph knew he couldn't get Mikey to be quiet, but he could grump about it.  
“What kinds do you think they'll have?” The pause afterwards made Leo realize that Mikey wanted an answer to this question. Donnie was still in my-genius-isn't-acknowledged-leave-me-alone mode and Raph was... Raph, so Leo took it on himself to answer.  
“I don't know.” Yeah. Great answer.  
“I hope they have the big booming ones and the popping sounding ones and the ones that go fzzzthz!” Leo ducked under the spit that went flying at the last word.  
“It's a firework show,” Raph called from up front. “Of course it'll have those.”  
Mikey's questions seemed satisfied with that answer and the tunnel grew silent. That is until said turtle cried out and pushed past Leo and Donnie to run around the next corner. Raph grumbled and chased after. Donnie and Leo took their time. Walking around the corner they took a moment to appreciate the gentle street light that filtered through the grate up above. It seemed to promise peace, beckoning through the thin slats, but Leo knew it wasn't peaceful up there. Not for them anyway.  
“We almost missed it!” Mikey was bouncing in anticipation.  
“Mikey, we have lots of time. We'll probably have to wait now because-” Donnie was cut off mid-whine by a loud boom. Seconds later green light filtered into the sewer tunnel.  
Raph snorted. “You were saying?”  
Donnie mumbled something and waved his hand, not wanting to admit Mikey had been right. It didn't matter. Mikey was pressed up against the grate, eyes wide.  
“Mikey!” Leo found himself hissing. “Get down!”  
Mikey didn't pay any attention to the warning, his fingers wrapped tightly around the grate slats, toes clinging to the brick of the sewer wall.  
“Mikey!” Leo tried one more fruitless time. Raph grabbed Mikey's belt and heaved. They both ended up in a heap on the ground, limbs sprawled everywhere with Leo standing disapproving over top.  
“You idiot.” Raph pushed Mikey's foot from his face as he sat up. “What were you thinking?”  
“Someone could have seen you!” Donnie added.  
“I just wanted to see the fireworks.”  
Leo sighed. He really couldn't stay mad at those eyes. Besides, he should have been expecting it. Mikey had always wanted to see more than the fireworks' glow. After Master Splinter had stopped bringing them on New Years Eve Mikey would make the trek every year in hopes of catching more. That was why they were there really, for Mikey. He'd even tried to find a better grate from which to watch, but Donnie had soon barred him from the laptop.  
“You'll just have to watch the lights.” This time. Leo bit off the last bit, not wanting to instil hope where he really didn't have firm reason to. Mikey's face fell, but he looked back through the grate, safely hidden from any eyes not turned towards the sky. Soon his face relaxed again. When an especially big firework peeked into their limited view and Mikey leaned forward to try and see more Raph's arm firmly held him back. Leo shared a look with him over their brother's head, Donnie catching the tail end of it before turning back to show. Leo was glad that, even for just this moment, he had Raph on his side.  
They sat in contented silence, listening to the fireworks and catching the glow. The sounds and lights grew to a crescendo then faded with one last burst, leaving the tunnel back in darkness. All three older siblings waited for Mikey break the quiet. He continued to look out the grate for a moment ten nodded. “That was good.”  
“It was the same as every other year.” Raph grumbled.  
Mikey ignored him and got up off the cold floor. “Do you think Sensei will have something for us at home?”  
Donnie opened his mouth to answer, but closed it again when Leo shook his head and turned to Mikey.  
“Maybe.” the eldest brother answered. But Mikey had moved on to other thoughts.  
“We should watch them for real next year.”  
“What makes you think we could do that?” Raph was trying not to scoff and was failing.  
“Mikey, Sensei won't even bring us up on his dump raids. Why would he let us watch the fireworks?” Donnie. The voice of reason. Wasted on Mikey.  
“Cause we'll be fifteen! And we'll be old enough. Right Leo?” The baby blue eyes turned to him, almost pleading.  
“I -” Leo paused. All night he had been giving Mikey's hopeful questions uncertain and indefinite answers. Answers that wouldn't pin the blame on him if the promises weren't fulfilled. And he knew it.  
“I don't know about Sensei, but I think we'd be old enough by then”  
Mikey's eyes lit up as bright as the sky had been during the fireworks and he scampered off. Raph glanced back, questioning. Leo shrugged and his brother rolled his eyes in acceptance then turned to face home. A smirk crawled across Leo's face. Keep it up much longer and they would have a secret language. Donnie's look told him that he could expect questions later, but for now they focused on home. Sensei was there and so were comfortable beds. Tomorrow there was the Space Heroes New Year's Special to look forward to. And that much was certain.


	5. Heaven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of one shots and possible short chapter stories from before the Turtles enter our world. Based on themes. This chapter: Michelangelo can`t sleep and Splinter finds some peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I know I promised that I would get one up a month last time, and I kind of didn't... Sorry! I'll try harder to keep on track. But I am warning you. Don't be disappointed if the next update isn't here super quick.
> 
> Now... in between the last update and now someone has nominated me for Best Chibi and Best Splinter in the Annual TMNT Fanfiction Competition. I am blown away that someone would enjoy this little fun project enough to want to nominate it. Whoever you were, thank you! You really encouraged me!
> 
> This one theme has been fun. I have found I really enjoy Splinter. Also, I was able to deal with a bit of grief here. My family had to put down our rabbit in January, so this one deals with death a little bit. But they're kids, so don't worry. Nothing crazy here. Just sleepy Mikey.
> 
> This was not beta'd. All mistakes are mine and mine alone. If you spot anything really weird, feel free to let me know so I can fix it.

_Quiet: absence of noise or bustle; silence; calm._

Little pattering feet echoed in Splinter's ears and woke him from his light sleep, breaking the silence that had settled over his small family. His sons had all gone to sleep a couple hours before, but it wasn't odd that Splinter would hear one of them get up to visit the bathroom during the night.

The subway station he had found was large and would provide his little family with plenty of space and room to grow, but for now he had them staying in a small area. Abandoned, the station had collected dust and debris that smothered the empty space. Splinter had cleared a small room with cupboards and a hot water tank off to the side before moving his sons to their new home. It was modest but it would work for a little while. In order to clean up the rest of the station Splinter would have to gather supplies, but he was not yet comfortable leaving his four charges for an extended length of time. It had been stressful enough leaving them behind as he went in search of a new place for them. They were old enough to know to stay in their hole of a home and Leonardo had promised they would be good while he was gone, but it was a great relief when he ducked to enter the low entry to their home and see all four sitting in their corner, surrounded by blankets, and telling each other stories to fill the silence.

Yoshi had never thought that he would have grown so attached to the four scared creatures he had carried with him into the sewers, but four and one half years after those moments he found that they had become as important to him as the memory of his Tang-Shen and little Miwa.

A pause in the footsteps interrupted Splinter's thoughts. The still silence of the station was broken by soft breathing and quiet shuffling of feet. Splinter allowed his ears to flinch towards the soft disturbances and the small one uttered a tentative "Papa?"

Splinter did not need to open his eyes to see who it was who stood by his head. "Yes, Michelangelo?"

"Can I sleep with you?" Open eyes revealed the turtle's wide blue ones, looking at him in expectation. Behind him Donatello and Leonardo were sleeping soundly, still wrapped in the old blankets Splinter had managed to find on one venture risked above ground. They were relatively in the same positions they had fallen asleep in; Leonardo resting on the back of his shell in a nest and Donatello curled on his side with his portion of the blankets gathered in his arms. Raphael was in a completely different position than the one he had fallen asleep in with one arm flung above his head, the other pulling loose blankets up to his chin. He had managed to kick off all other coverings, but before Splinter could get up to recover the little turtle he rolled across the vacant space Michelangelo had left, dragging the blankets with him, and broke through the carefully shaped nest to rest his arm across his brother. Effectively covered and apparently satisfied Raphael nestled his head deeper into the blanket and grew still again. Leonardo merely shifted towards Donatello to accommodate for the change. One of the blankets was missing from the pile and had been dragged behind Michelangelo over to where Splinter's mat lay by the door.

"Have you had a nightmare?"

Michelangelo shook his head. "I just want to sleep with you." The hand not holding the trailing blanket reached up to rub at tired eyes. Splinter allowed a smile as the small face in front of him broke into a yawn. He suspected that there was more of a reason behind Michelangelo's desire, but did not want to press and the turtle could truly just be tired and wanting company. Sitting up, Splinter made room on the mat beside him. Michelangelo quickly curled up with his blanket wrapped around his shoulders like a cape and Splinter closed his eyes again in the restored silence.

They stayed like that for a few minutes and the room filled once again with the gentle sounds of night time breaths. Raphael had just pulled Leonardo closer and Donatello had rolled to his other side when Michelangelo sat up. He fidgeted with his blanket, running the ragged tassells through his fingers, then laid back down before sitting up again impatiently. Splinter let him shuffle around a little longer before breaking asking, "Is something bothering you?"

"Papa?" Michelangelo turned towards Splinter, his face puckered in a small frown. "Do we go anywhere after this?"

The question caused Splinter to pause. "I'm not sure I understand what you are asking."

"Like that bug Raph squished." Splinter suddenly realized. There had been a skirmish earlier in the day involving a large insect that had found its way into their small room. Raphael had frantically run around the area before grabbing their battery operated heater scavenged from the blanket run and smashing the appliance on top of the insect. They had been lucky it hadn't been significantly damaged, or that Raphael was not injured as the heater had weighed almost as much as the turtle, but Michelangelo had been rather concerned with the remains of the creature. Donatello had helped clean the bottom of the heater while Michelangelo, with Leonardo's assistance, had gathered what remained of the beetle as best they could. Splinter had been preoccupied with assessing the heater, so he had not seen what Michelangelo had done with the bug, but it was not in their room when he had finished after calming Raphael down. Michelangelo had not mentioned what he had done with the remains and Splinter had assumed that he had not been affected. But now it was clear that the creature's death had impacted the turtle more than it had seemed.

Over in the blanket pile Leonardo's arm draped itself over Donatello and Michelangelo's face puckered. "Where did it go? Where did the bug go?" He swiped a green fist across bright blue eyes that filled with sudden tears the small turtle clearly did not fully understand. Bright blue eyes filled with tears and seemed to Yoshi to reflect the few sorrows Miwa had encountered before he lost her. Tears that had fallen for almost the same reason; the loss of something precious. Yoshi turned his head to hide his own tears as small phantom hands grasped at him in sorrow, their memories clawing at the carefully constructed walls he had built up with time.

A muffled sob crept out of Michelangelo. Splinter pushed through the flailing hands that plagued him despite his best efforts. The small turtle desperately clutching at his blanket needed him more than Miwa's memory. With a motion that mirrored and yet differed from his past actions, Splinter pulled the crying child into his lap and up against his chest, and doing so banished the persistent hands. In the dim light of a dented battery powered heater Yoshi held one child and Splinter let another go.

Gradually Michelangelo desperate breathing slowed and evened out to match the rhythm coming from the blanket pile beside the heater. Splinter continued to softly rock his bundle even after he had slipped into peaceful sleep. Quiet settled back into the room and as Splinter sat he realized that that same resting quiet had entered his heart. Where words and cries had echoed continuously since he had left Japan, where ghost hands had pulled at him, there was quiet. A peaceful, soothing quiet.

Careful not to disturb the sleeping turtle, Splinter stood and carried Michelangelo to the seemingly waiting open arms of Raphael. Michelangelo unconsciously snuggled against his brother as an arm tightened in instinctual response. Donatello had rolled himself up against Leonardo, breaking the last of the nest wall. Splinter gentle draped Michelangelo's blanket over his four charges, his four sons, a tangled pile of love. Perhaps tomorrow he would explain to them why there was death in their small little world, and perhaps he would allow his walls to come down as he shared of Tang-Shen and Miwa, but for now he would sit and enjoy the peace and quiet.


End file.
